Underground League: Driving Passion
by Kuya Sukawe
Summary: Two noobs arrived in Bayview. One of the most popular spots in street racing. They're not here to see it but to be in it. Join Takashi and Syaoron for the drive of their racing lives...Chapter 4 up!
1. Chapter 1: Starting Point

**Underground League: Driving Passion**

**Disclaimer: I own neither the CCS cast nor the NFSUG2 things mentioned here.**

**Claimer: I make the design of the cars.**

**Chapter 1: Starting line**

The evening had no clouds to see. The stars shone brightly above the sky around the streets of Bayview. This night was as cold as ice. The streets lay bare, but the sounds of engine humming and roaring could be heard from anywhere. A competition was brewing.

Somewhere in Fort Union, a race was just starting. Two cars: a blue Mazda MX-5 and a Toyota Corolla lay still on the road. The drivers inside the two cars revved their engines like crazy. The engine roared like crowds surrounding them. Men and women checked out and whistle the two cars that were showing their strength and power.

The driver on the Civic grinned cocky, confident that he'll going to nail the Corolla. He pushed on the throttle, letting the engine roar loudly in a deafening magnitude. The other driver didn't let up either. He too pushed on the throttle, letting crowd around him hear the power of his car.

The Civic driver opened his right window, looking cockily at the driver of the Corolla.

"Oh, I gonna smoke you, boy," he said.

The Corolla driver looked back and smirked.

Both of them revved their engine consecutively as a beautiful lady went between their cars. The black haired, Asian looking babe raised both arms. The two drivers revved louder and louder when the lady raised her arms. The crowds went wild, feeling the adrenaline pumping in their veins as their about to witness a race of the night.

The sexy lady dropped down both her hands. In effect, the drivers punched on the throttle, driving the wheels on the road, making a loud burn out. In seconds, the cars zoomed to the race.

O 

The loud sound of an airplane swooped down the deserted landing platform of the Bayview Airport. The jumbo jet drove down to the docking area where it will unload its passengers.

Out came two men from the airport; both were Asian looking. The first one had dark hair, slit eyes and wearing a gray shirt with neck sleeves black, denim cargo pants and a pair of sneakers. The second man showed his Chinese heritage. He had messy chocolate-brown hair, and amber eyes. He wore a green Chinese-looking vest with four Chinese characters on the right side with matching parachute pants and shoes.

The two men strolled to the parking lot.

"I can't wait to get out there," the brown haired man said eagerly.

"I can't wait either, Syaoron," the dark haired dude replied.

Syaoron glanced at him. "What did the letter said again, Takashi?"

The slit-eyed partner reached to his pocket and took something out of it. It was a small yellow letter with two stamps at the upper right corner. It had a return address from Rachel, their manager.

"Rachel said that a car will be waiting for us," Takashi replied, "here at the parking lot."

"Is that so…?" muttered Syaoron. "So, where's the car?"

Takashi scanned the wide and spacious surroundings of the parking lot. There were a few cars parked along the lots. Soon after, he spotted the vehicle they were searching.

"There!" he said, pointing at the green car at the left.

Syaoron turned his head to the left and noticed the car.

"Yup, I see it," he said.

The Takashi and Syaoron approached the car. The car was 2003 Nissan 350Z model painted in dark green with purple Tribal vinyls at each side of the radical car. The sleek wheels, RC-looking spoiliers, and the carbon fibered side mirrors were a cool combination on the car. The hood was also carbon fibered that added some spice at the front of the 350Z.

"What a hotrod!" Syaoron said.

Takashi moved to the bumpers. "Nice bumpers."

Syaoron walked to the front passenger's seat, smirking. "You drive."

Takashi laughed. He approached the driver's seat which was at the left side of the car. The two men sat down on the neat leather seats of the car. In his hand was the key of the car. He inserted it to the ignition and twisted it. The engine roared to life. It roared louder and louder every push of the throttle. The sound of the turbo was fine in tune; the sound that was supposed to sound.

Between them, there was a laptop. The monitor of the laptop suddenly turned on seconds later. A blue haired guy with big, round glasses appeared on the screen. Takashi and Syaoron stared at the screen.

"Who are you?" Syaoron asked.

The blue haired man smiled. "I'm Eriol Hiragizawa."

Takashi raised an eyebrow.

"Ookay…?" he said. "Where is Rachel?"

"Yeah, where is she?" Syaoron chimed in. "She's supposed to be our manager here."

The blue haired man chuckled. "I'm sorry to disappoint you. But Rachel is not available right now. In fact, she won't be…managing you. I'm _your_ new manager."

"Uh-huh…" Syaoron muttered.

"Whatever," Takashi said. "Too bad though."

"Rachel will be chatting with ya soon," Eriol said, smiling. "But for now and on, I'll be your manager."

Eriol leaned on his chair.

"As you can see before you," he began, "This is a small laptop that will help on your way. Driving here, in this course, will be tricky. Plus, you two are new here. This will also receive what we racer would to call "SMS" or short-message-system…"

"U-kay…" Takashi muttered.

Eriol continued, "... linked with GPS. It can also use this to navigate the unfamiliar streets. This will really help you."

"I got it," Syaoron said.

"Good," Eriol replied with delight. "Now, I've given a place to stay here. I input the location and go there. And try not to be late okay?"

"I got it," Takashi replied.

The monitor turned off as soon as Takashi replying.

Syaoron grinned with delight.

"Punch it, bro," he said to Takashi.

The wheels skidded along the road, screeching in a very high pitch as the driver pushed the throttle to the fullest. The Nissan 350Z dashed through the road to the exit of the airport.

O 

Takashi pulled over to a nearby alley in Fort Union beside a Spanish type house. He moved the car inside the alley. There was a big concrete space at the end of the alley that was surrounded by few buildings. Their place that they would stay was at the left side of them.

"This must be it," Syaoron said.

Takashi drove the car into the garage until the laptop beeped with a message. Syaoron opened the inbox and saw a message from Eriol.

The message said,

**HEY, GUYS, BEFORE YOU CHECK OUT YOUR SPOT, HEAD FOR THE CAR LOT IN HOTEL PLAZA. YOU'RE GOING TO NEED SOME WHEELS. THE INSURANCE WILL COVER THE EXPENSES, SO GET IN HERE. I UPLOADED THE LOCATION. YOU WON'T FIND THIS HARD TO FIND.**

Suddenly, the laptop jumped to the GPS and there was a bright blue marking on the map. Takashi paused for a second. Syaoron looked at Takashi.

Syaoron said, "What're you waiting for? Let's go there."

Takashi nodded. He pushed to the pedal and executed a quick U-turn, exiting the alley.

O 

Takashi sped along the street, pushing the throttle more and gaining speed. He pushed the brakes, slowing the car down and entered the corner with elegance. They entered to an intersection where at the middle were numerous fountains spewing water. Takashi went through the fountains straight to another road. Luckily for them, there wasn't much traffic. Yamazaki turned the left, entering a straight road. Soon they spotted the Car Lot.

"There it is," Syaoron said, smiling.

The car began to slow down as it meters away from the Car Lot. Takashi parked the car near the big building. The two men got out of the vehicle and approached the garage door. At the right side, there was a door that suddenly opened. Out came Eriol, their manager, smiling cheerfully at the two guests.

"Welcome to Bayview," Hiragizawa said with open arms.

He shook hands with Syaoron and Takashi at the same time.

"So, you'll be our manager," Takashi said.

Eriol nodded. "Yes, I'll be you manager. Sorry to disappoint you. Rachel is really busy right now with her new one."

"Oh well. That's okay," Takashi said, grinning.

"So," Eriol began, "welcome to the Car Lot. Take you pick."

Takashi smiled, obviously waiting to choose his new car to ride. The three men walked inside the room and went to the garage area. Inside, unfortunately, there were few cars to choose from. All were kind of weak.

"These are the available stock cars we have right now," Eriol explained.

Syaoron sighed. "That's too bad."

Takashi looked around the cars. All of them looked humdrum and needed some work on the paint job and style. But these were only the available; not much money to customize for either of them.

Soon, Takashi chose his car of choice. It was a yellow 2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT V6. It looked like a go-kart, but that's his taste.

"I'll take the Tiburon," he said, smiling.

"Ah, the Tiburon…" Eriol smiled. "Nice choice. Rear-wheel is your favorite right?"

Takashi nodded at him.

"If that's the case, I'll take the Civic," Syaoron said. "Do you have green?"

Their manager shook his head. "No—only blue."

"Damn," Syaoron said softly. "Okay, blue Civic would be fine."

Eriol chuckled.

"You always like Civics don't ya?" Takashi said, grinning at Syaoron.

Syaoron clucked. "Sure I love Honda."

He went to the blue Honda Civic beside the Tiburon.

"Though I'm really mad for Ford cars," Syaoron added.

Takashi smirked.

Eriol glanced at Takashi and at Syaoron, smiling.

"Then you are ready to go," Eriol declared.

Takashi and Syaoron both nodded and smiled.

"Let's take these babies out for a ride," Takashi said.

Syaoron laughed as he hopped in to his new Honda Civic.

"This sucks though," Syaoron said. "It isn't green."

Takashi laughed. He twisted the key into the ignition. The engine roared as the throttle got pushed down. The headlights on both cars turned on. With the final revving the Tiburon and the Civic dashed out of the garage and went to the city streets.

O 

"Boohoo!" Tekamah shouted.

The Tiburon ran like a speedy cheetah, going about 81 miles per hour. Syaoron, with his Honda Civic, soundly tailed Takashi. At the T road, Takashi jammed the brakes to the last second and turned the steering wheel right to a corner to Hotel Plaza. He pushed the clutch, shifted up and put on the power. The loud cry on the two engines was deafening and the screeching tires weren't as pleasant either, but the cars pushed through the curves beautifully. Takashi and Syaoron were good drivers indeed.

Takashi's laptop suddenly got a message from Eriol. He opened it.

**We have many events this evening, boys. I uploaded the race location to your GPS. Syaoron has one too. Enjoy the night and get some greens.**

Takashi smirked at the message. He reached to the call option on the laptop and called Syaoron.

"Yup?" Syaoron said.

"Did you get the _RL_s?" asked Takashi.

"laughing Yeah, I got it," Syaoron replied. "I guess we'll be splitting up."

"Yeah," Takashi replied.

Takashi shifted the gear up and punched on the gas.

"See ya later! Syaoron out."

Takashi shut off the call and continued on his drive.


	2. Chapter 2: First Races

**Disclaimer: I do not own any CCS things and NFSUG2 things….**

**To TeDDiez: Thanks for the good reply. Now I can say that I don't screw in writing my finished fanfics :p. Read my other fanfics as well. You might enjoy it.**

**Chapter 2: First Races**

Takashi drove to the urban part of the City Core. His car's engine hummed with fine tune. The tires screeched when he weaved the car to the left. Takashi shifted up to another gear for more speed. Another corner appeared before his car. He slowed the car down before he entered the curb. He placed the shift stick to third gear and pushed the throttle. He was now on a straight road. All of a sudden, two cars, a red MX-5 and a yellow Ford Focus, went past him, going to the same place he was going.

At the far end, Takashi saw several bystanders, gazing at the two shiny cars. Most of them were me; few were women. Some of crowd whistled at the two cars. Takashi parked his car a few meters away from the two cars. He turned off the car and got out of his Tiburon. He looked around. It was a little quiet on his place. Most of the crowd was hooked on the MX-5 and the Focus. Not much of the crowd did gaze his car.

"Man, what a crowd," Takashi said, scanning the whole area.

Suddenly, his laptop beeped. He turned his heel around and approached the driver's seat. It was a call form Eriol. He quickly answered the call. The screen opened and showed the face of Eriol smiling at Takashi.

"Yes?" said Takashi.

"Having fun tonight?" asked Eriol.

Takashi shook his head. "Nah. The race hasn't started yet."

Eriol smiled. "So you have entered a circuit."

"Yeah," Takashi replied.

"This race easy," Eriol informed. "The curves are easy to enter; it's four kilometers long, and kinda looked like a race track for NASCAR. You shouldn't find this hard."

Takashi smiled, showing some teeth.

"Thanks for the tip," he said.

"Sure thing," replied Eriol.

Yamazaki turned his head to the crowd "…kay. Gotta go. The race is starting."

Eriol smiled cheerfully at Takashi. "Well, good luck."

Takashi hung up. He inhale deeply and exhaled. "Here we go."

He pushed the throttle, revving the engine. He drove the car slowly to the starting line. The crowd on each side cheered on the three cars. Takashi aligned the car and placed the gear to neutral.

"Alright, let's do this," Takashi said.

A long, brown haired, Caucasian woman, wearing a glistening, silver one-piece dress and high heels, walked in front of the cars. The woman raised both arms side wards, signaling the drivers to be ready. There she stood in front of the small gap between Takashi's Tiburon and the Focus. Then the lady raised her arms up high in the sky. In seconds, she shoved her arms down to the ground; a signal for the drivers to…SPRINT! The drivers jammed the throttle and the race has begun.

The cars dashed to the street. The Focus and the MX-5 were neck and neck, leaving Takashi in their dust. Takashi's Tiburon caught up with the two cars. Seemingly, the Ford Focus and the Miata MX-5 were still fighting for the lead.

Takashi shifted to third gear and pushed more on the throttle, attempting to get closer to them. Moments later, they were about to meet the first corner with ease, but he was still in last place. He held on in tailing them. The drivers met up with the intersection that had fountains at the center. The Focus and the MX-5, who were in front of Takashi, weaved right and left, going past the fountains.

"Whoa! They're good," Takashi thought.

For a first time racer in a new setting, Takashi did well on trailing them. He soon got close enough to overtake. Takashi took his chance but failed. The driver of the MX-5 saw it and intercepted the entry. Takashi had no choice but to back off. It's back to the rear for him.

"Damn, he saw it," Takashi said.

O 

There were now at the last lap of the race. The pressure was coming to the drivers and adrenaline came rushing to the driver's vain. For the last two laps, Takashi wasn't able to get past the Focus and the MX-5. Takashi grinned cockily. That was what he wanted the drivers to think. He shifted up and jammed his foot to the pedal. The Tiburon slowly gained speed. The Tiburon's front bumper was very close behind of MX-5 rear bumper. The driver looked at this rear view mirror. To his shock, he saw the Tiburon close behind him.

"What the…?" he exclaimed.

Takashi weaved right beside the MX-5. Before MX-5 driver could react, it was too late. Takashi shifted in to high gear and blasted away to the side of the MX-5 driver watched in shock as he was being overtaken by Takashi. Takashi shifted to fourth gear and left the MX-5 to eat his dust.

Takashi laughed as he smoked the MX-5 behind. It wasn't long before he'll going to smoke the Focus. He pushed more on the throttle, trying to catch to the Focus. The driver of the Focus looked at his side mirror. He saw a blinding flash coming closer to him. The man shifted to lower gear, swerving the car to the sharp curb of the track.

Takashi pushed on the throttle more and immediately braked two meters before the sharp corner. He pulled the side brake, drifting the car with a fast exit. He was really catching up with the Focus.

The Focus driver looked at his rear view mirror. He saw, to his shock, the Tiburon at the side of his rear bumper. He watched as the Takashi moved slowly, nearing the cockpit. Takashi grinned as his Tiburon got past the Focus and finished the race.

Takashi pulled on the brakes. Afterwards, he got out of the car; just to see many street racing fans rushing to him and congratulating him. The crowd screamed. Takashi raised his fist victorious and the crowd went wild; the first racing victory for him in this city.

O 

Takashi went back to his car, happy and proud of himself. He leaned down on his car to the relaxation he deserved. Even though, the race was easy, the drivers he fought were really good themselves. He really thought that he won't win his first race. But thanks to his determination, he succeeded in winning the race. Plus, he also got cash for winning the race. He grinned, looking at the star above. Suddenly, the laptop beeped once more. He quickly answered the call. In the screen, he saw Eriol's pleased face.

"Hey, congratulations for your first victory," Eriol said.

Takashi grinned. "Thanks."

"There's more to come, Takashi," Eriol noted.

"There's more?" asked Takashi.

He crouched over his seat, wondering what challenge he would be up against.

Eriol nodded.

"Yeah, you could join what event you want to be in," he replied. "And win some cash at the same time."

"Win some more cash and head to Megalow parts." He added, "It's cheaper there but limited in parts. But you buy some useful parts there."

Takashi nodded. "Okay, boss."

O 

Takashi drove his Tiburon on the streets of City Core. The night got bright by the street lights installed on the streets. The stars shone about the dark sky, glittering and glistening light below. Since the night was cold, he decided to turn off the air-con of the car and lowered his windows. The wind ran against his face. He remembered the times he had driven a car. He smiled when he remembered the time he messed the clutch and blown an engine. It was an old AE-86 that his father gave to him in his High-school years.

He also remembered that he popped one of the tires of his 86, damaged the gearbox and most the terrifying, he met an accident, although he survived without a scratch, but not the car. He remembered all the screw-ups he made in those years, before he improved to be a good race driver. He laughed softly at those memories he recollected.

He pushed the throttle, gaining more speed. He was about to enter a curve at the end of the strait. He pushed the softly to slow the car a little, trail braking to the side of the street. In a split second, he turned the steering wheel left and entered the corner. Takashi pushed the clutch and shifted up to third gear upon entering. He quickly accelerated the car, making a clean exit.

Meanwhile, Syaoron was cruising along the empty streets of City Core. He had just finished his first too thirty minutes ago. His Honda Civic Coupe Si really kicked ass. It was a good thing that he chose this car. He stopped to an intersection and looked for on coming traffic. Nothing passed by for the past few seconds. So he decided to move along.

He shifted the car to first gear, slowly applying pressure to the throttle to get his car moving. Just before the Civic's front bumper exited further, a yellow speeding car passed by. Syaoron quickly stomped the brakes in reaction.

"What the fuck…?" Syaoron said in shock.

The young, brown-haired man caught a glimpse at the speeding car. He quickly recognized the yellow paint job of the go-kart-looking vehicle.

"That was Takashi!" he muttered.

O 

Takashi enjoyed his run on the streets. Suddenly, his laptop rang. He glanced at it, wondering who it could be. He slowed the car down. Reaching for the laptop, he answered the call.

"Yeah?" Takashi here," he said.

"Yo!" a voice shouted from the speaker. "You almost banged my car!"

"Syaoron?"

"Yeah, It's me," the voice replied.

Takashi grinned. "So how's your race?"

"It's good…" replied Syaoron. "I won."

"Me too."

"Good for you."

Takashi shifted the car to a higher gear and continued chatting with Syaoron.

"Is your race hard for a first timer?" asked Syaoron.

Takashi grinned. "Not really… Though the opponents I raced with were good drivers."

"Nice."

"Are you up for another race tonight?"

"Yeah—How about you, Yamazaki?" asked Syaoron.

"I guess I'm up for a little Drag," Takashi replied.

"Drag?..."

"Drag."

"Well okay—good luck. Syaoron out."

Hang up

Seconds later, another call came up. He answered the call, looking at the screen. It was Eriol.

"Hey there," Eriol greeted.

"What's up?" Takashi asked.

"Nothing, just reminding you to beef up the car," Eriol replied.

"Beef up my car… Oh yeah," Takashi said.

"To be on the top of your game you must get the parts you need to get there," noted Eriol.

Takashi glanced at the road ahead and put his right hand on his chin.

"Uh, maybe later—for a while," replied Takashi. "I'll finish my Drag and go straight to Megalow…"

"You goin' to need," Eriol warned.

Takashi hung up and continued to his ride.

O 

In time, Takashi arrived at the race location. Yet again, the crowd flocked in each side of the road, cheering for their idol racers. Two cars, a purple Toyota Corolla and blue Nissan Sentra, moved to the starting point of the race. The drivers of the two cars came out as soon as they parked their cars. The Corolla driver was a white male with spike, dark hair, wearing white shirt, a pair of denim pants and a pair of black sneakers. The other male, driving the Sentra, was a blond guy, wearing a checkered vest (unbuttoned).

The two men shook hands, glaring at each other's eyes. That's the time Takashi moved to the starting point. They watched him drives his car to the starting line and move out of his car. Curiously, they approached Takashi and his Tiburon. Takashi was getting out of the car when they arrived. He noticed that the two men were staring at him four meters away. He looked at them. The dark haired man approached Takashi first before the blond guy did.

"Yes?" Takashi said, glancing at the two of them.

The dark haired man extended his hand to him. "Kenneth," he said.

The blond guy also extended his hand to Takashi. "Marc."

Takashi raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… Nice, to me you," he replied, shaking both their hands.

"You're new here aren't you?" asked Kenneth.

Takashi replied, "Yeah?"

Marc clucked. "…Another newbie."

Takashi raised an eyebrow.

"Forgive him," Kenneth. " He's, been cocky in defeating new ones who often in this track."

"Uh-huh…" muttered Takashi.

Kenneth glanced at Takashi's yellow Hyundai Tiburon.

"Nice car you have there," he said to Takashi.

Takashi glanced at his car. "Thanks."

"Well good luck with the race," Marc said. "You'll need it."

"I plan not to," Takashi shot back.

Marc chucked.

O 

Takashi, Kenneth and Mark made their final glance at each other, before they went back to their car. The crowd cheered as the car revved up their engines.

Takashi buckled his seat belt, and put his hands on the steering wheel. His shiny, yellow Tiburon's engine hummed loudly when Takashi pushed the throttle. He shoved the throttle a couple of times, letting the engine rev up loudly. The crowd cheered at the cars, ready to watch the race that was about to happen.

A spunky-looking girl with blond hair, wearing black tank top, army pants and sneakers, walked in front of the cars. Seeing that the three racers were prepped and ready to go, she raised her arms. Takashi pushed more power on the car, raising the rpm meter to the point where it gets most torque out of. The girl dropped down abruptly her hands, and the race has begun.

The wheels skidded along the road, giving off white fumes, before they darted out. Takashi shifted up to a higher gear. When the rpm meter reached to 8000 and a half rpm, he quickly shifted up. His Tiburon dashed to second place, leaving behind. He was neck and neck with Marc with his Sentra. Marc shifted up to fourth gear, so did Takaashi.

Marc looked at his rear view mirror and saw Takashi close behind. He was surprised to see Takashi very close to this car's rear bumper.

"He's good," he admitted. "Let's see if you can get past me!"

He shifted up to fourth gear and applied pressure to the throttle, accelerating his Nissan Sentra. Takashi noticed him going faster. He too pushed the throttle and followed him.

They were almost at the end of the race. Takashi was still at the rear of Marc. The engines hummed as loud as the bands in a concert. The tension was getting to Takashi. He admitted that Marc was good, but is he smart?

As a last resort, Takashi weaved left and overtakes Marc on the side. His Tiburon moved slowly to the Sentra's driver's seat. They were now neck and nec. Who will win this? Will Takashi make Marc eat his words?

Takashi jammed on the throttle, adding more power to his car. His car made to the front at the last second of the race. Takashi stole first place.

"Oh damn it!" Marc exclaimed.

Takashi laughed to his victory; this adrenaline rush that he just was very radical.

"Wuuuu! That was fun!" Takashi shouted.

He pushed the brakes went back to the starting line.

O 

The crows went wild in his return. Marc and Kenneth were standing beside their cars, talking.

Takashi stopped the car and got out of the car. Some of the crowd went to him, congratulating him for his speedy victory. He noticed Kenneth and Marc were watching him. He decided to approach them.

"Congratulations for your win," Kenneth said when he saw Takashi approaching.

Takashi smiled.

"Man, I can't believe that you disked me!" Marc said.

Takashi chuckled upon hearing Marc's reaction about the race.

"You did great back there though," replied Takashi.

Marc smiled. "I shouldn't have underestimated you.

"Come and race with us sometimes," Kenneth said.

Takashi nodded.

"You're going to enjoy Bayview," Kenneth implied.

"Oh will," Takashi replied.

The three men shook hands, looking at each other one more time and headed back to their cars. Takashi opened the door of his car. He got inside proud of himself; smiling at the first two races he had tonight. He leaned on his seat very pleased with him self. The proud young man then started the car. Suddenly, his laptop chimed its tune when someone was calling. It rang three times before he answered it.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, Yamazaki," Syaoraon's voice said from the speaker of his laptop. "I'm going to the Performance Shop Eriol was talking about. I'm just wondering if you're coming.

Takashi smiled, happy to hear it. He replied, "Sure."

"Let's meet on our place," Syaoron said.

"O-kay," Takashi replied.

Takashi tapped the throttle; he shifted the gear up to first and pushed the gas. The wheels skidded on the road before getting traction and dashed off to Syaoron's.


	3. Chapter 3: Performance Check

**Disclaimer: Same as Chapter 1…**

**To ffgirl-07: Thank for your review. The pairing didn't really cross my mind. I am more focused on the story about competing in underground streets races and how to live with it. I guess but I can't be sure though. **

**Chapter 3: Performance check**

The yellow Tiburon drove to Fort Union to the tight corners of the place. He has passed through the big fountains, going to a straight road. The Fort Union's vast urban landscape, with its European look, gave such wonderful view for the evening.

Soon, Takashi arrived to their place with minutes to spare. As he got out of his car, he saw Syaoron looking at the hood of his Civic. He wondered what could be the problem. Syaoron popped up the hood and examined his engine

"What's the matter?" Takashi asked, walking toward him.

Upon hearing Takashi, Syaoron glanced behind.

"Oh-hey," Syaoron said, smiling at his friend.

"Problem?" Takashi asked.

Syaoron nodded. "We should go to the Performance Shop."

"Okay…?" Lead the way," Takashi replied.

Syaoron quickly put down the rod and lowered down the hood, while Takashi went back to his car. Syaoron hopped in his car and turned the engine on. The engine roared back to life. The car roared louder as the throttle got pushed. The brown haired man drove his car past Takashi. As for Takashi, he followed Syaoron.

X0X

Minutes later, they have to the Performance Shop Eriol been talking about. The Honda Civic and the Hyundai Tiburon entered to the open space of the shop. Syaoron and Takashi moved their cars in front of the shop, facing it. Syaoron blew the horn.

The garage door opened slowly upwards. The cars moved inside the garage. The inside was huge; all the things that a race car enthusiasts ever dreamed to have were all the here. At the middle of the garage were four risers; used to raise cars up in the air for better view to the mechanics. Every side of the place were filled with racks of race tires, rims, suspension shocks all the parts that racer would need to beef up his car. Surely Takashi and Syaoron were impressed by the looks of it and the parts lying around.

They parked their car a few meter away from the garage door before the door closes it self. As the garage door scrolled down, they walked out of their cars to gaze at the design of the shop. They were impressed by the parts all arranged neatly and looked nice to see. Way across the garage, were several tables arranged to columns. Probably used for putting car parts with.

"This a nice place," Takashi commented.

Syaoron smirked. "This will be a good place to customize our car."

"Here there!" a voice said from behind.

Startled, Takashi and Syaoron turned. They saw a young man, wearing what it looked like a light blue mechanic's uniform with a matching cap on his head. His eyes looked serious and grim on his face.

"You must be the guys Eriol mentioned coming here," he said.

Takashi and Syaoron glanced at each other.

"Yeah," Syaoron replied.

The man smiled slightly. He said, "Welcome to the shop—the place to beef up your car and do some tweaks with it to improve your car. Look around, or tell what you need."

Syaoron laughed nervously. "Sure."

"Yeah I guess I need some changes for my car," said Syaoron.

"…And your name is?" Takashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh—sorry. I haven't introduced my self. The name's Touya—Touya Kinomoto," the mechanic replied.

Syaoron extended his arm. "Li, Syaoron. Nice to meet you."

"Takashi Yamazaki," Takashi said.

Touya shook Syaoron's hand and smiled at them.

"Pleasure to meet you both," he said.

Touya turned and glanced at Takashi and Syaoron's car.

"You have nice cars," he said.

"Thanks," Takashi replied. "I've been heard a lot."

"Same here," Syaoron chimed in. "But I'm looking for a better though."

Touya placed his hands on his waist and sighed. "So you settled with a Civic."

Li nodded. "The front-wheel is good though," he replied.

Touya sighed. "So, what's the gig?"

Syaoron approached his car, touching the smooth surface of his hood.

"I need to beef up my ride," Syaoron said.

Takashi grinned when Syaoron said the word "beef up"

"The word I've been waiting for," he said, chuckling.

"Okay…?" Takashi muttered.

"Come. Follow me," Touya said, walking to the far end of the garage.

Syaoron walked with Touya while Takashi tailed behind them.

X0X

There were several car parts on each table; all looked brand new and shiny. Parts of all shapes, sizes and power were on those tables ready to be installed on the person who bought it. The candidates were Takashi and Syaoron.

"Nice parts you got here," Syaoron commented.

Syaoron was about to hold one of the parts until Takashi stopped him.

"Ah-ah-ah, don't touch that," Touya said, removing Syaoron's hand from the car part.

"Why not?" asked Syaoron.

"I just polished that," Touyo replied. "I don't want my shiny parts to get smudge by somebody else dead skins and oil. That will cramp the quality of it."

"Wha?" Syaoron looked confused.

"He means he doesn't want anyone touch these parts," Takashi said.

"I know," Syaoron said to Takashi. "But do you have to say it so straight?"

"It's my style," Touya replied.

"Oh that's harsh," muttered Syaoron.

Touya laughed. "Oh well, let's get started. Let me see you car."

X0X

Syaoron popped up the hood for Touya to see the engine of his Honda Civic. Takashi lowered his down and examined the engine. He took out his little flashlight and lit it up. His arm, holding the flashlight, moved left and right to see if there any problem to the engine; even thought it was brand new.

"This _is_ brand new," Takashi declared. "But you going to need some work on this so it give out its best on the track."

_Let me see…_

"The engine is quiet good but need some upgrades to make it faster," Touya said.

Syaoron nodded, understanding every word Touya was uttering. He too agrees that it needs some. That's he came here in the first place.

"You got to order some of the parts to beef this up but I have some spare part here to get some boost," Touya said.

"I see," Syaoron said.

"Okay I'll buy your parts, and get back to the road and earn some money," Takashi said.

Touya nodded. "I agree. To buy parts from companies, you must have a great amount of money to buy those hotrod parts. Simply put, you must be rich."

Syaoron grinned. "Well I guess, I have to agree too."

"Then let's get started," Touya said.

X0X

They all pitched in to get their cars slightly modified. Syaoron moved his car to the riser while Touya went to the controls of the riser. Takashi watched as Syaoron moved his Civic into position. He went to the front of the car and popped up the hood. Touya approached Takashi. He gave him the Fuel Filter component to install in the car.

Syaoron got out of the car to have a look on the progress Takashi and Touya were doing. Touya was below Syaoron's Civic, inserting the component to the engine region.

"Did you get it?" Syaoron asked.

"Uh, Takashi? Help me out here," Touya asked.

Takashi leaned over the engine and helped Touya install it.

"I got, I got!" Touya said as he wrenched the component in place.

"Nice job," Syaoron said to Takashi

Takashi smirked and broke out in a laugh.

"You do it. It's your car," Takashi said.

Syaoron laughed, knowing that Takashi was right. He should be helping Touya, not Takashi.

"Alright alright!" Syaoron replied.

Takashi laughed as Syaoron approached him to replace him.

"Yo, Syaoron," Touya called. "Hold the fuel filter steadily."

"Alright," replied Syaoron.

Takashi grinned as he watched Syaoron help Touya do the finishing touches on the car.

Syaoron closed the hood of his Honda Civic and sighed.

"Nice job," Takashi commented.

Touya rolled out under the car and looked at the both of them.

"One down, one to go," he said, showing his teeth as he smiled.

Takashi chuckled.

Takashi approached his Tiburon to get it prepped for the customization. He got inside his car, started the engine and revved it. He place to shift stick to first gear and slowly pushing the gas; at the same releasing the clutch. The car slowly moved to the riser with Takashi revving the engine as he put it to a stop. Syaoron moved toward when Takashi turned off the engine. Takashi exited his car.

"What's the modification?" eagerly asked Syaoron.

Takashi smiled when Syaoron asked that question. Yamazaki was sure what he doing, plus he had good amount money to put to reality tonight. He had planned this out after the Drag race he participated an hour ago.

"For now, remove the top speed limiter, do something about the ECU and make some adjustments on the transmission," Takashi straightly replied.

"That's a lot of work," Touya said.

Takashi looked at Touya. "I know you could do it."

Touya shrugged, looking annoyed. "Well, let's get started."

In seconds, Touya went to his supply house at the far corner of the shop and got the parts that Takashi asked of him. Takashi has popped up the hood when Touya arrived with the parts inside a big carton box. Touya took them out and place it on the table behind him.

Touya, with trusty board on wheels, went under the car to install the parts. Takashi helped him while Syaoron watched them. He went to his car, opened the glove compartment and took a CD out of it. At the middle of his car's dashboard was a CD player. He inserted CD in to it and play a track named "I do" by Chingy.

_Cause I do don't make it chingy_

_Cause I do don't make it all on me_

_Cause ma mama said de…I won't! I won't_

_Cause missing two inches cause I don't don't…_

The song continued on and on as Takashi and Touya installed the parts on Takashi's car. The song helped them get to the beat, making the work more enjoyable than before.

"Nice soundtrack you got, Syaoron," Touya commented.

"Thanks. I got this for free!" Syaoron replied and laughed.

Takashi and Touya laughed with him.

X0X

Hours later, the installation of the new parts has finished. The garage door opened upwards as the car of Takashi and Syaoron got out of the shop's garage door. The engine of the two cars roared louder than before. It seemed that the parts they've installed were effective.

Touya went between them, looking at the both of them.

"Thanks, dog," Takashi said, smiling. "The parts were a great help."

Touya smiled. "You're welcome. Drive by if you need some upgrading.

"Oh we will," Syaoron assured.

Syaoron revved up the engine.

"Ha-ha-ah!" Takashi shouted, "This thing rocks!"

Takashi pushed the throttle, revving the engine. "Let's try these babies out! Wuu-hoo!"

Takashi punched the gas. The tires skidded on the tarmac, giving off white smoke. Both cars, the Civic and the Tiburon dashed off the shop to the streets. The engines screamed as the tires screeched along the road.

**I hope you like the first three chapters. I party is starting; this is only an appetizer on what's about to happen along their way. Stay tuned and drive well.**


	4. Chapter 4: Outrun with girls

**A/N: Thanks for those who have entered my fanfics and read them. Thank you very much. There is one favor for me to ask. Please do review my work(s). It would be appreciated if you have something to say on my work. Please read and then review. Thanks!**

**Chapter 4: Outrun with girls**

The evening was dark and cold. Screaming engines and shrieking tires were everywhere. Each engine roar and tire screeches broke the silence of cold, eerie streets. Only the streetlights illuminated the dark cold streets as the cold breeze swept down the road, blowing debris to the air.

Takashi drove his Hyundai Tiburon to the broad, empty streets of Hotel Plaza. He turned the steering wheel left to a turn. His foot tapped on the brakes and instantly, his heel pushed the throttle; consecutively releasing his foot off the brakes in a flash. His foot laid horizontally over the brakes and the throttle, making his right foot do most of the accelerating.

The rpm meter dropped while inside the curb. Takashi pushed the clutch and shifted down to second gear. The dial quickly shot up to a good level. His Tiburon whirred as the rpm's continued rising. He shifted up to a higher gear then floored on the gas. Suddenly, his laptop rang. Takashi pushed the button to answer.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Look behind you," a said from the speaker.

As Takashi passed by a corner, a green Honda Civic rushed behind Takashi's Tiburon. Takashi glanced at his side view mirror and saw the Civic coming closer and closer.

The Civic had XENON headlights, blinding Takashi when he glanced at his mirror. In seconds, the Civic caught up with Takashi—its front bumper close to the Tiburon's rear.

"What the…?" Takashi muttered—his face was full of shock.

The Civic weaved right and its cockpit aligned with the Tiburon's front passenger seat. Takashi rolled down his window down to see who that was catching up with him.

As the window rolled down, the mystery driver's face began to take shape. Takashi's face formed an amazed look. It was Syaoron with a _new_ _looking_ Civic.

Syaoron smirked proudly. "Hey."

X00X00X

Takashi and Syaoron parked their cars at the shoulder part of a street, got out, and Takashi checked out Syaoron's new looking Civic.

Syaoron's car did some radical change; the bumpers were changed to new and better Snyper bumpers. Below the front bumper, there were to rectangular stubs sticking out of the bumper, making a cool look to the front the car. The headlights were changed to cooler ones too. It looked like the car was angry with its squinty look. The dark green Powdercoat on the car gave such tone and the blood red, black outlined dragon vinyl gave a good flare to the sides of the car. Takashi could only grin, looking really amazed by the car's looks.

"What did you do to your car?" Takashi asked.

Syaoron smirked proudly. Seeing that Takashi was amazed by the new make-over, it wasn't a surprise for him to be proud of it. He spent most of his wins for this make-over. Now he knew it was worth it.

"Well, I found some shops along the way and bothered to check them out," replied Syaoron. "I took my designs, told them what to do and…viola! This is my new car."

Takashi crossed his arms—hands tucked in. He looked at Syaoron with some signs of envy. Noticing it, Syaoron placed his hands on his waists and smirked.

"You're jealous aren't you?" Syaoron accused.

Takashi's eyebrows shot up. He briskly shook his head.

Syaoron's grin grew larger. "Yup, you're jealous."

"Shut up!"

Syaoron laughed. "Yeah. You're are."

He wiped off the tears of laughter on his amber eyes, but kept on chuckling. Takashi looked annoyed. A big vein appeared at the back of his head.

"Hey, if you want," Syaoron began, "you could bring your Tiburon to a shop and tweak its look."

Takashi placed a hand under his cheek and smirked. "That's a good idea.—but not tonight. I'm raising my _dough_ for tonight."

"Okay then. Let's get gong." Syaoron made a wide smirk.

X00X00X

Takashi and Syaoron drove their cars to the highway in incredible speed. Takashi pushed on the clutch and shifted up to fourth gear and floored on the throttle. The rpm meter and the speed o' meter were rising as they kept on going through the big highway.

Touring through the highway, they were met up by two cars, overtaking beside them. The car beside Syaoron was a Ford Focus with the front white and the rear cherry blossom pink. Behind the Focus was a Mazda Miate MX-5 with Powdercoat red at the front and black at the rear. It had the same type of bumper that Syaoron bolted on his Honda Civic.

They watched as the two cars aligned themselves with theirs. Suddenly, Takashi's laptop rang. He glanced at the Focus before he answered the call.

"Yeah?" Takashi said.

"Hey, Good Evening. This is the Focus driver speaking," a perky girl's voice greeted.

Takashi glanced at the Focus one more time.

"I was wondering," she continued, "if you and your buddy their could take us on—me and my girl friend."

Takashi raised an eyebrow.

"Yo, what's going on?" asked Syaoron.

"They want to challenge us," Takashi replied.

Syaoron's eyes grew large, surprised about the challenge. He smirked, quite interested about it.

"What's the stake?" he asked.

"What's the bet?" Takashi said to the Focus.

"Hundred dollars—each," she replied.

Syaoron said, "Alright! Let's get it on!" Syaoron shouted.

"Alright. We'll take you on," Takashi replied to the Focus.

The Focus driver dashed off to the lead and in front of Takashi's Tiburon.

Syaoron said, "You take the Focus, I'll take the Miata."

Takashi nodded. "Alright!"

Takashi shifted down to third gear and floored on the gas. His Tiburon was catching up with the Ford Focus. His well-balanced car slowly crawled behind it.

Syaoron and the Miata were neck-and-neck, behind Takashi. He shifted up and crawled to the lead.

They were almost at the end of the highway. There were two exits at the end of it. Takashi and the Focus weaved left while Syaoron and the Miata went to the other way. They were separated with each other.

X00X00X

Takashi chased the Ford Focus into the blank streets. The car swerved left and right, blocking Takashi from overtaking her. Having no choice, he back off and continued tailing the Focus.

_Man, she's good,_ Takashi thought. He steered the car right behind the Ford Focus. He was going to attempt another overtake but his opponent saw the attack and intercepted him. His eyes squinted and his mouth frowned with contempt.

There was another corner at the end of the street. His opponent steered her car left and entered the curb. Takashi tailed on the pink-back Focus. The Focus' rear wheels slid across the road with a sharp screech. The Focus driver tapped the throttle, maintaining her grip on the road.

Takashi had no difficulty catching up with his _female_ opponent. A few meters away from the curb, he pushed the brakes. He steered his Tiburon a little to the right, then he jolted the steering wheel into a hard left and on the throttle. His car drifted along the sharp turn with ease. Shifting up to third gear, he caught up with the Focus, slowly crawling to the front.

He glanced at his female opponent. His opponent rolled down her window. He was setting his eyes on his opponent until the Focus made a brake for it and moved to the rear. Takashi shifted his sight to the front. His dark eyes grew large. He was about to crash with a wall. His foot stomped on the brakes, and his right hand jerked the e-brake, trying to halt the car. All the wheels went to a halt, but the Tiburon was still moving. The tires shriek as the wheel got dragged along the road. Takashi turned the wheel to the fullest; attempting to let side of the car hit the wall first. His car began to slow down. Fortunately, he didn't crash. The left of this car was a millimeter away from the wall.

He sighed deeply. "Damn it!" he muttered to himself

X00X00X

The Miata exited from a corner and Syaoron was tailing her rear. He was right behind the Miata. Shifting the gear to third and flooring on the throttle, his Civic slowly crawled behind his opponent. The Miata swerved left and right, blocking Syaoron's opportunity to overtake. He tried one more time before entering the curb but failed miserably.

Syaoron's good set of teeth clenched angrily and gripped more on the steering wheel. He was annoyed by the good driving of his opponent. He studied the moves of the Miata and thought of a strategy. The driving style of his opponent seemed familiar to him, but he could put a finger on it. So he concentrated on his chase.

Roughly, the Miata blocked every overtaking opportunity that Syaoron had, yet he still tried his best to do it.

"Man she's a good driver," Syaoron muttered to him self.

He stomped on the throttle and steered the car to the right as he and his opponent entered the turn. In such incredible and dangerous speed, his Civic drifted along the corner in a 70 degree angle; the side of the car almost touched the rear of the Miata MX-5. Tapping the throttle, he gained some traction on the road, continued his power drift behind his opponent. Syaoron shifted down to second gear as he counter-steered.

The green Civic slowly gained momentum over the Miata. Syaoron slowly center his steering wheel at the same time, the Civic's front bumper aligned beside rear of the Miata. It was like it was kissing the rear of the MX-5, then the car crawled to the front. They were neck-and-neck for the lead.

His cockpit drew closer to the Miata's right side. He rolled down his window to see his opponent. His eyes squinted, trying to get through the heavily, red tinted window of the Miata while, at the same time, glanced at the road for upcoming turns.

The Miata driver rolled down her window. As the window rolled down, a face began to be drawn behind it.

"What the…" Syaoron's eyes grew larger in shock to see a familiar face.

X00X00X

The white-pink Ford Focus drove through the streets without a worry. Her opponent was too far from her, she thought.

The young girl had short brown hair. Her locks dangled across her peach face. She wore pink tinted shades on her eyes and a round black and white stripped beret on her head. On her top and bottom, she wore a matching baby tank top for beret, denim mini-skirt and flat soled sandals (seemingly inappropriate).

The girl drove her Ford Focus through the urban streets of City core. Her face plastered a proud smirk as she drifted through the corners.

"Where is he?" she asked her self. "The meter said he's still on the game. Where could he be?"

She was about to check her GPS until when she passed by a corner, a yellow Hyundai blitzed behind her Focus. The girl turned her head around and saw two flashing headlights behind her.

"Huh?" she exclaimed. "No way!"

Takashi grinned. "You think I'll be disked so easily?"

He shifted up and floored on the throttle, getting nearer and nearer to the rear of the Focus.

The girl glanced at the Tiburon behind her. Behind her pink shades, her emerald eyes grew larger, startled by the sudden appearance of Takashi.

The Tiburon slowly gained momentum and moved closer to the front. Takashi gripped tighter on the steering wheel that his knuckles almost turned white. He stomped on the brakes as he and his opponent entered the turn. His car leaned forward from the force of the brake. He steered the wheel, making a intense powerslide inside the corner. He caught up with his opponent with ease.

The girl glanced one more time behind to check her opponent. She felt as if the Tiburon was breathing down her neck. The tension was getting to her now. Her heart beat faster than normal from the adrenaline coursing through her system.

"Here I come, girl," Takashi shouted, his eyes concentrated on the road.

He steered his wheel right and moved beside the Focus. The short brown girl watched as Takashi slowly burst into speed to the lead. Rolling down the window, he got a glimpse of his female opponent.

Takashi saw his opponent making an angry face at him. He smirked at her and made a mock salute. He pushed the clutch, shifted up to fourth gear and floored on the throttle. The rpm meter sky rocketed and the engine roared violently as his Tiburon's speed increased.

"Sayonara, sucka!" Takashi shouted, waving his hand out of his window.

The engine more violently as Takashi put more on the throttle. The wheels spun into an almost invisible blur. His Tiburon dashed away, leaving the Ford Focus to eat his dust.

X00X00X

Takashi parked his Tiburon somewhere in City Core at the middle of a big building with two inclining hills at each side in front of it. He got out with a smile for he just won a hundred bucks from an Outrun with the pink-backed Focus. It was a good victory for him. He laughed a few times as he leaned his back on left side of his car, waiting for Syaoron to meet up with him.

It took fifteen minutes for Syaoron to show up. He parked his car parallel to Takashi's and got out of it. He approached Takashi sighing, looking rather sad or something.

"Yo, Syaoron," Takashi called, approaching Syaoron. "How did the race go?"

Syaoron looked at him and smiled slightly.

"Yeah I won," he replied.

"So what's with the smile upside down?" asked Takashi.

Syaoron chuckled at that remark. "Well… How will I say this… Let's just say I saw an unexpected relative."

Takashi raised an eyebrow. "From China—again?"

Syaoron shook his head, disagreeing to Takashi.

"Not exactly," he said. "Uhhh…"

"Big evil sister?"

Syaoron shook his head again.

Takashi scratched his head. "So who?"

Suddenly, a beep came from Takashi's car. They both turned their heads to it and moved to the cockpit. Takashi got inside the cockpit and answered the call.

"Hey, guys," Eriol said to them.

Takashi smiled slightly. "Hey, boss, what's up?"

"Got any races for us?" Syaoron asked eagerly.

Eriol chuckled. "I have some parties for ya."

"Great!" Takashi said, smiling.

"It's a Circuit. You and Syaoron will be joining it against another pair," Eriol informed.

Takashi and Syaoron glanced at each other and grinned.

Syaoron looked at the monitor. "Where's the _RL_?"

In the monitor, Eriol typed something on his keyboard and looked at them shortly.

"…Race Location? Uhh… It's in Hotel Plaza. I've downloaded the _exact_ location," Eriol said. "Be there, burn some rubber." Eriol grinned at the monitor.

Takashi grinned back. "Oh sure. We'll do that. Won't we, Syaoron?"

Syaoron smiled, showing some molars at the side. "Oh we will."

"Over n' out," Eriol said and the monitor turned off.

X00X00X

Takashi and Syaoron arrived at the race location. They got out of their cars and moved beside each other.

As usual, there were many spectators standing and waiting for the race to begin. The crowd was just there waiting silently and stared at Takashi and Syaoron's car. Most of the crowd gathered around Syaoron's more attractive Honda Civic.

Syaoron shrugged at Takashi. "Mine's cooler than yours."

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny," Takashi said, frowning.

Syaoron laughed.

Soon two more cars arrived at the location. The same cars they have race against two hours ago.

Takashi noticed the cars and tapped Syaoron and pointed at the cars. Syaoron turned his head to the direction Takashi was pointing at. His eyes got larger in shock to see them.

"Oh great. Them again," Syaoron muttered.

"Why? What's the prob?" Takashi asked.

The two girls got out of their vehicles and posed at the crowd.

Syaoron sighed and pointed at his opponent at the Outrun. Takashi raised an eyebrow and looked to where Syaoron was pointing.

Syaoron pointed at the long blue haired girl with bundled hair on each side, wearing a white baby T-shirt with the sleeves red and had a plunging neckline. At the center of the shirt, imprinted the brand name "Levi's" aligned at the breast. She wore a mini-skirt so short that only covered the _undies_ and white tennis shoes on her feet.

Syaoron narrowed his amber eyes at that girl, frowning.

"Uh—okay? Now what?" Takashi muttered.

"That's my cousin," Syaoron finally said.


	5. Chapter 5: Syaoron versus his cousin

**Thanks for the people around the world who read my fanfic. I appreciate all your dedication in reading this. In favor of me—for, please do write some comments about my story so I can see your vision about this fanfic. I'll be looking forward in reading your reviews. R and R, guys :) **

**Chapter 5: Syaoron versus his cousin**

Syaoron glared at the girl with long, flowing, blue hair beside her short brown haired friend; a few meters away from where they were standing. His light brown face molded an angry frown at the sight of the girl. Takashi glanced at him, looking curious at his reaction.

"Uh, Syaoron?" he called.

Syaoron's amber pupils moved to the corner of his eyes and looked at Takashi.

"What's you damage, breh.," Takashi said.

He looked back at the girl. "Nothing," he said.

Takashi raised an eyebrow, bewildered by Syaoron's behavior. The brown haired girl, with her blue partner that Syaoron was staring at, walked towards them. The brown haired girl, slim bodied and cute, wearing the same outfit that Takashi from his last opponent, pouted at the sight of him.

"You again!" the girl said angrily.

"Me?" Takashi pointed his index finger at his face, pretending not to know anything about her.

"Yeah you," she replied. "You're the one who beat an hour ago."

Takashi let out a proud smirk, knowing that she, his opponent, remembered biting his dust. "Oh really?" he said, his voice sounded annoying. "I don't remember kicking your ass in an Outrun."

The girl growled angrily. "Why you—"

"Syaoron," the long blue haired girl said with a happy smirk. "It's nice to see you again."

Syaoron glared at her but did not answer. "Meilin," he said, "I never thought to see you face again."

Takashi glanced at Syaoron, wondering what's going on.

"It's been five months since you left Tokyo, my cousin." Meilin smiled.

Syaoron did not say a word but kept on staring at her.

"Your cousin?" Takashi said to Syaoron, but Syaoron didn't reply.

"Oh c'mon, Syaoron, answer me," Meilin pleaded.

"Three words, Meilin," he finally replied. "I'll beat you." Then he walked away.

Takashi watched him go to a vending machine. He looked at Meilin. "What's his problem?"

Meilin sighed and put her right on the back of her head. "Nothing much… Jealousy, I guess."

Takashi glanced at Syaoron atonce, drinking a soda.

"Oh, my name is Meilin," the blue haired girl said to Takashi.

"And I'm Sakura," the brown haired girl said, smiling.

Takashi stood up straight and replied, "Takashi. Nice to meet you."

"I'm sorry if my cou—your buddy their got angry with me," she apologized. "It's a bit of a long story."

"A long story…" Takashi repeated. "I'll talk to him."

Meilin smiled. "I dunno if that's going to help."

"Oh well. Got to try," Takashi replied.

Takashi walked towards Syaoron, sitting on the hood of his Honda Civic and looking down on his feet.

"Hey, Syaoron, what's bothering ya," he asked.

Syaoron paused for a moment and sighed. "It's nothing…that bad," he replied.

Takashi raised an eyebrow. "Oh really…?"

"You've met my, cousin, right?" Syaoron looked at Takashi with a smile.

Takashi looked in front and smiled. "Yeah," he replied. "She's not a bad person."

"She's not," Syaoron confirmed.

Takashi turned his head at Syaoron. "And why are _you_ getting mad at her?"

"It's a looong story, bro.," Syaoron replied and smiled. He stood up and drank all his soda.

"Meilin…"—he paused for a moment—"Before I went to the mountain roads of Akina and joined you and your buds, I was a rookie driver in Tokyo; the highway roads of Tokyo," he explained. "I was going well, until she came along. From China roads—she flew from there to Japan and, went here. She was a good driver than me. Meilin showed it all in Tokyo. She took it all from me by defeating me in my turf. Damn, I can't forget it." Syaoron grabbed another can of soda, popped it open and drank some of it and continued, "Then months have past on that fateful night, she defeated me on after another. That car you saw their, was the very car who defeated me; the same car that defeated me on that race in Japan."

"Then what happened?" Takashi asked.

Syaoron sighed and finished, "The next thing that happened is, because of too many losses _from_ of her, I left Tokyo and went somewhere else. Then I landed in Akina, met you and your buddies. The rest is history. Then _we_ went here in Bayview and here we are, and I met her _again_."

Takashi laughed and smacked his left hand on Syaoron's back. "You have a weird life. You can't even endure so many losses like that?" he said in an annoyed tone. "Tell you what. Me? I always lose on some of the races in Akina—especially with _D_ guys. Did I quit? Hell No! I kept on going until a honed my skills and became the driver I am now."

"Then until my friend called up and brought us here," he added.

Syaoron laughed softly. He felt quite better when his friend shared his story of loss. His face began to brighten up and smiled. "Thanks, bro."

Takashi smirked. "No problem. Now, let's get this damn race started."

"Alright."

X00X00X

Takashi and Syaoron drove their cars to the starting lane behind the Focus and Miata MX-5. Syaoron got out of the car—as Takashi did—they met up with their female competitors for a _formal_ introduction. They faced each other eye-to-eye. They smiled at each other, giving each other a confident look—except for Syaoron who was looking too serious than before.

"May the best…drivers wins," Meilin said cocky.

Takashi clucked out a laugh. "Sure."

"This time, sis, I'll beat you." Syaoron glared at his cousin.

Meilin made a cocky grin and replied, "You'll never beat me. You'll never."

Takashi glanced at Syaoron. "Let's get this going."

They all entered their cars and ignited their engines. The engines roared to life and hummed rather violently. The crowd cheered at the racer, ready to chant, shout and howl. Meilin turned on her car's speakers, making a big booming entrance to the crowd. She played a rap song—the closing theme song of 2Fast 2Furious. And the crowd went wild.

Takashi smiled at Meilin's MX-5 tuning up the crowd, though Syaoron wasn't much impressed by it. Joining the fun, Takashi pushed the gas pedal and made such beautiful engine hum rhythms, trying to match the beat of the song. The crowd went even wilder when they heard Takashi's "drumming".

Syaoron smiled and laughed. "That's it, bro.! That's it!" he shouted happily.

Meilin looked back at Takashi and smiled. "He can really please the crowd," she complimented.

Soon enough, the female race conductor went in front of them, holding sparks one on each hand. She turned and faced the raced, standing between them.

Takashi gripped on the round steering wheel. He concentrated at the conductor's hands as he pumped his engine up. His rmp dial rose, then fell in every step of the throttle. He prepared himself.

Syaoron, as well, concentrated at the woman. He moved his shift stick to first gear and pulled the e-brake up waiting for the conductor's arms to drop down. _This will be the turning point_, he said to himself, _I will be the one to beat you, Meilin. And I reclaim my pride as a good street racer. Just you watch. You'll gonna eat my dust._ He pushed on the throttle more, and his Civic's engine roared loudly, swallowing the music.

The race conductor raised her slim arms up as the sparks flew to the air. "Three! Two! One!" she shouted. "GO!" Her arm dropped down to the ground.

The race has begun. The cars dragged off, leaving white smoke and tire marks on the road for everyone to see.

Takashi shifted up, and shifted up one more time to third. He steered his Tiburon and tailed his opponents in front of him. He stomped the throttle, crawling nearer to the rear bumper of the pink Ford Focus.

Syaoron shifted up and tailed behind his cousin's MX-5. His amber eyes narrowed, trying not to let his sight out of his opponent. He steered right and attempted to overtake his cousin. Meilin spotted the attempt of Syaoron. She jerked the steering wheel to the right, intercepting his overtake. Syaoron sneered contemptfuly that he failed to take the advantage. So he backed down.

"Damn he saw it!" Syaoron said. He put the gas down and continued tailing Meilin.

Meilin turned her head around to look at Syaoron. "Not good enough, Syaoron." Then she laughed.

Syaoron gritted his teeth and shifted down to fourth gear.

The wheels spun into a blur and the engine increased its roar. The cars were about to enter a high speed corner. The cars braked before they entered the corner. They exited the corner with not much of a problem.

Syaoron shifted down to third gear. His face made a grimace of annoyance. Not being able to overtake his cousin was becoming such a drag for him.

Takashi glanced at his buddy beside. _C'mon, Syaoron, keep it up_, he thought to Syaoron. _You can do this, man_. He shifted up to fourth gear and pushed the throttle further.

Another corner was coming. Syaoron concentrated on taking out his cousin to place farther than her. He was determined to outrace his relative.

Meilin and Sakura weren't driving shabby either. They looked as if they owned the track. Meilin quickly shifted down to third gear and floored on the throttle.

The rear wheels came off its grip from the road and skidded down concrete. Meilin's car drifted along the corner pretty well. Sakura's Focus rode along pretty well behind Meilin. Takashi and Syaoron were still on their tail.

Syaoron shifted down once and steered his car right to the second, yet sharp corner. And to another sharp corner, he steered his Civic hard left to the apex of that corner. He quickly counter-steered the wheels to gain traction from the road.

Syaoron's sleek, green Civic made a good powerslide as he pushed the throttle to its fullest and turned the wheel for the other corner. He slowly applied on the throttle for more control over his Civic. He gritted his teeth tighter as he struggled from the G-Force of the turn.

"I'm gonna get ya, Meilin," he said.

Meilin glanced at her rear view mirror and smiled to see Syaoron catching up. "Is that what you got?" Meilin shouted. Her car went through the corner as well as the others.

Syaoron began to lose it until Takashi called him.

"Hey Syaoron," Takashi called.

"WHAT is it?" asked Syaoron.

"Keep it cool in there," Takashi replied. "This is only the first lap, Syaoron. Don't lose it."

Syaoron turned back at his driving. He sighed deeply and replied, "Thanks. I'll do my best."

Takashi grinned upon hearing Syaoron's reply. "Let's make them regret that they raced against us," he said confidently with a grin.

Syaoron's Civic chased the two opponents as they were about to go to the checkered lane. The Focus and the MX-5 went past the lane and Syaoron and Takashi as well.

_Last two laps_, Syaoron thought,_ I must get her_. He gripped his steering wheel tight, making his knuckles turn white. "Meilin, I'll get you for sure."

Minutes later, he made his move. Syaoron pushed down the throttle and went past Takashi. He was focused on getting behind Meilin. His car's engine roared loud. Syaoron shifted up to fourth gear when the rpm rose to its power peak.

Takashi tailed behind Syaoron, waiting for his chance to overtake. He looked pretty calm than Syaoron was now. Pushing the clutch, he shifted up to fourth gear and pushed on the throttle. He steered the wheel as he entered the curb. He quickly shifted down and tapped on the gas pedal as he exited the sharp curb, crawling nearer and nearer to Syaoron.

At the S-curve, Syaoron was beside Sakura and going farther to Meilin. He shifted up to third gear and went past Sakura's Focus and got behind Meilin.

"Yeah! That's the ticket," Takashi shouted smiled proudly.

Meilin looked behind and saw Syaoron closing in on her. She sneered, seeing Syaoron getting close to her, yet smiled after her quick contempt. She aligned her car in front of Syaoron to prevent him from overtaking her easily.

Syaoron gritted his teeth in all his focus. He turned the Civic to a 80-degree angle, drifting it behind Meilin's rear bumper. He tapped on the brakes. The wheels flew off its grips as he counter-steered—his front bumper still close to Meilin's rear bumper.

Meilin glanced at her rear view mirror. Her face plastered a frown of contempt. "I can't shake him off," she said.

"I'm almost their," Syaoron said to himself. He glanced at his rpm meter slowly rising to the peak, his speed o' meter increases in every second, going to 150 kilometers per hour. "Here I come!"

Syaoron weaved left in an attempt to overtake Meilin's Miata MX-5. But Meilin saw it coming and intercepted him. Syaoron didn't let up. He attempted one more time, but still Meilin intercepted him one more time.

At the straight road, now was the chance for Syaoron to speed up. He shifted up to third gear and gassed the engine. His front bumper closed in behind Meilin's MX-5, drafting behind her.

At the end of the straight road, there was a 90-degree corner to the finish line. Syaoron prepared himself for the curve and relaxed his grip on the steering wheel. He pushed on the throttle for more speed and weaved his car to the right lane.

They were fifteen meters away from the "L" corner. There was also traffic in that curve. Meilin quickly braked for it and turned the wheel to the corner, avoiding the traffic.

Syaoron released the throttle to slowdown. He jerked the sidebrakes, slipping the rear wheels from its grip. The green Civic made a very fast powerslide as it entered and also avoiding any traffic accident.

Syaoron smiled, pretty proud of him self for his fast drift technique. "That was insane!" he shouted happily.

Then suddenly, Takashi moved beside Syaoron before they got past the checkered lane. Syaoron glanced at his friend and smiled. Takashi smiled back, praising Syaoron with a thumbs up.

"You did great," Takashi mouthed at Syaoron.

Syaoron smiled and gave back the thumbs up. He shifted up to fourth gear then steered a hard right to the corner; consecutively shifted down to a gear short and exited the corner.

It was the last lap of the race. This was now the apex of the circuit race. Now, all the racers put all they got for this. Everything could happen. They were serious than the past to laps.

Syaoron attacked again to Meilin before entering the S-turns. He almost succeeded, until Meilin turned for the corner and intercepted Syaoron. He backed down for a while and waited for his chance.

"I won't let get past me," Meilin said. "You can't get me _that_ easily."

_Almost there, I can do this_, Syaoron thought. He shifted to second gear for more torque on the wheels. More torque, means more acceleration and more grip on the road for the weight to shift to the back. He was really doing a good job driving his Civic those corners.

Syaoron's Civic crawled behind Meilin Miata MX-5. The two engines roared at each other like raging tigers out for each other's throats. The green Civic broke left and dashed beside Meilin. Still, Meilin blocked him, not giving it a chance to beside her.

"You got to do better than that!" Meilin shouted. She weaved the car into a corner, shifted down gear and punched the gas pedal.

Her car drifted along the corner with style; a good 70-degree powerslide she made on the curb. The MX-5 drifted with such elegance that the driver must a good at it.

Syaoron didn't give up. He still tailed his cousin to the easy part of the track. Now that strip of road was his chance to over take. He made his move as he and Meilin entered the corner. His car crawled inch by inch as it overtakes Meilin; the chance Syaoron successfully grabbed.

Meilin didn't saw it coming. Her cousin's Civic successfully overtook her Miata. She was shocked to see Syaoron right beside her car and crawling further away from her.

The determination in Syaoron's eyes was so great, that he managed to defeat his cousin, Meilin. In slow-motion, his hand reached for the shift stick and shifted down gear; the rear wheels slid on the rough road, screeching as it drifted, and the rpm slowly increased when his Civic exited.

The Civic got past the Miata MX-5. Its headlights blind the scene. More over, the engine hummed loudly and gloriously.

Syaoron turned the wheel into an 80-degree angle. Then he counter-steered it to get more balance as his Civic powerslided out to that sharp corner and into the slightly curved road ahead.

Meilin's face changed its expression from a confident and cocky smirk, to a shocked and angered frown. A smile went on her face to see Syaoron had gone so far.

_Well done, Syaoron. You finally overtook me_, she thought.

Syaoron smiled with pride. _Yes! I finally did!_ He shouted in his mind.

"…In your face, Meilin!" Syaoron shouted and laughed aloud. He shifted up the gear to third and blasted away to victory.

Meilin, now, chased behind Syaoron.

Takashi smirked, seeing that Syaoron finally did beat his cousin in a fair fight. But the lap was not finished yet. Takashi shifted down to fourth gear and floored on the throttle, leaving Sakura behind him and catching up on Meilin. Out of nowhere, Takashi passed by Meilin's Miata and to Syaoron's Civic. As soon as Syaoron was several meter away from the checkered lane, Takashi's Tiburon went behind Syaoron's Civic.

A call came to Syaoron's laptop. He answered, "Yeah?"

"You did a good job, Syaoron," Takashi praised.

Syaoron smiled, while his eyes were glued on the road. "Thanks, bro." he said.

"This is not over yet," Takashi noted.

Syaoron grinned, knowing what Takashi meant.

"You did a good job in defeating her," Takashi added. "Let's see if you can keep up." He floored on the gas more and dashed right beside Syaoron.

Syaoron grinned, happy to take on Takashi's challenge. "You got it!" he said.

They hang up and began the race. Syaoron and Takashi blasted off after they passed by the checkered lane. They were head to head with each other. Takashi weaved right in an attempt of overtake his buddy, Syaoron.

Takashi pushed on the throttle, increasing the speed of his Tiburon. At the sharp corner, Syaoron braked right and entered the corner. Takashi, Meilin and Sakura were right behind him.

Meilin gritted her teeth, upset that Syaoron successful disked her. She shifted down and steered a hard right. Her car drifted along the corner. Her rear wheels slid on the road, screeching loudly as it drifted. Her hands twisted the steering wheel, counter-steering the car to the corner.

Sakura smirked as she jerked the side brakes and turned the steering to the corner. "Waahhuuuu!" she shouted, feeling the G-Force the powerslide was giving to her. Her car swayed to and fro as it exited the corner.

Takashi pushed the clutch, shifted up to third gear and pressed the throttle lightly. He chuckled for a moment as his dark blue eyes stared at the road and at Syaoron's rear bumper.

Syaoron glanced at his back and smiled. To see Takashi catching up with him was very invigorating for him. His smile turned to a sly grin, feeling good about this. He almost forgot when was his last time he had this much fun driving like this. He turned the steering and powerslided to the S-turn of the street course.

His green Civic drifted along with great skill. The car swerved left and right as Syaoron turned the steering wheel, avoiding the traffic that was coming. He shifted the gear to second and turned the wheel left for the last curb of the S-turn. Then he steered his Civic for another corner up ahead. Tapping the throttle, he maintained his traction on the course with some braking.

Takashi was right behind him. Happy to see Syaoron drive, he smiled, determined to catch up with him. Shifting down to second gear and swerved his Tiburon right, Takashi's left side skirt was adjacent with Syaoron's. His engine growled loudly as it slowly gained advantage over Syaoron.

Syaoron glanced at his right; his eyes grew wide, seeing Takashi moving closer and closer. His lower jaw dropped, but it didn't stop him from not letting Takashi get past him. At the corner's exit, he made a bold move of blocking Takashi's passage of overtaking.

Takashi braked for it and avoided a collision between his Tiburon and Syaoron's Civic. He grinned with impressed, watching his buddy doing that insane stunt. "Wow! He did an insane move," he began. _He might be as confident as I thought_, he finished to himself. He shifted the gear to third. His Tiburon tailed beside Syaoron's Civic as it exited the corner. Its engine growled with high volume.

Another sharp corner was nearing. Syaoron was in full control of the race. He was becoming more confident of him self that he finally made a good race. More confident than ever, Syaoron shifted down the gear and swerved his car right, entering the 90-degree turn ahead. He quickly jolted the brakes to brisk halt. The wheels went to a stop, until he pushed the throttle, drifting the car sideways and avoiding some of the traffic. A pretty incredible move he made. The turn he just made was dangerously fast. Even Takashi was shocked to watch Syaoron doing it.

"Man, he's becoming cocky," he said.

Meilin gripped on her steering wheel. Her teeth gritted tight in her tender mouth; angered by being left out in the game.. Only Takashi and Syaoron were competing at each other. Then her sneer turned to an impressed smile. "I know that you improved quite a lot, Syaoron," Meilin began, "but that the reason to left me out!" Her right foot floored on the gas.

Her small, blood red-black Miata dashed and overtook Takashi.

Takashi was surprised. "What the…"

Meilin shifted down and accelerated rapidly. Her Miata got past Takashi's Tiburon and chased Syaoron's Civic.

Syaoron glanced at his rear view mirror and saw Meilin tailing him, instead of Takashi. "Wha—what the…"

"I'll get you, Syaoron!" Meilin shouted.

Syaoron grinned. "Not this time." He swerved his Civic to the right, blocking Meilin attempt to overtake.

Meilin didn't give up yet. She tried one more time, but Syaoron saw it coming and intercepted her again.

"Wuhu!" Takashi laughed. "This is going to be a drag race to the finish." He grinned slyly as he waited for his advantage.

At the easy stretch of road, Syaoron was still at the lead. Meilin was at second, Takashi at third and Sakura at the end. Meilin and Syaoron looked as if they were at each other's throats, going neck-and-neck to the sharp corner ahead. They evaded the cars that were coming to them. Syaoron made a swift swerved left, while Meilin made a strafed right, avoiding an unsuspecting driver.

Syaoron shifted up to fourth gear and stomped on the throttle. His face was full of confidence and determination in finishing, _and_ winning the race.

Meilin was pleased too, seeing that Syaoron was in the lead. Takashi, as well, was impressed by Syaoron's performance tonight. But this didn't change the fact that he won't this race. He was determined to win this race for everyone to see.

"I won't lose to you. Not now, not ever," Meilin said. She floored on the gas and quickly caught with Syaoron.

Syaoron's concentration broke when he saw his cousin crawling further close to his side. His eyes grew larger, watching Meilin getting advantage over him.

To another straight road, Syaoron and Meilin were neck-and-neck once more. Their engines roared louder than ever. Their speed o' meter dial rose and still increasing as they sped fast for the corner several meters away from them.

Syaoron glanced at his right side to see his cousin. Meilin glanced and gave him a good smile. He smiled back and went back on the road. Their cars were particularly even at that moment. Each time the other made to the lead, the other one stole. It continued before they entered the corner. Their cars' tires screeched at a very pitched as they entered the sharp, 90-degree corner.

Syaron shifted down gear and swerved his car to enter the corner. The rear wheels lots its traction and began to swerve wildly on the road. He maintained control over the car by counter-steering.

Meilin shifted up to third gear when she exited the corned, but still on Syaoron's tail. Now she felt more determined to get Syaoron.

At the last stretch of road, it's only a matter of time to declare the victor. Syaoron still held on his lead. Meilin was still chasing him. Takashi was at third place, while Sakura was at the last.

Syaoron shifted down to fourth gear and floored on the gas. The rpm was slowly rising at the same his speed increased. He was pretty sure that he would win this.

Then suddenly, it all changed. Meilin dashed beside Syaoron, slowly gaining advantage over Syaoron. He couldn't believe his eyes to see Meilin all of a sudden. He felt that his candy was taken away from him by an unknown force. The chances of him winning this became uncertain.

"I won't let you," Syaoron said angrily.

"I'll win this!" Meilin shouted.

Their engines roared furiously. They were neck-and-neck once more to the checkered lane. The nose of their cars went back and forth as Syaoron and Meilin fought for the lead and avoiding traffic at the same time.

Syaoron shifted up to fourth gear and steered his Civic. He swerved his car to and fro, avoiding to cars coming toward him.

Meilin did the same thing as Syaoron. She shifted up gear and attempted to overtake Syaoron one more time.

Syaoron saw it and intercepted her. But as turned his back to his driving, he saw a white car closing in on him. In instinct, he swerved quickly back to the right lane. He growled, angry that why didn't he see it coming.

Out of nowhere, Meilin went in front of Syaoron, stealing the lead that Syaoron had.

Shock was the only expression shown his face, but this didn't stop him. He swerved his car left and crawled to the lead.

Meilin can't do anything but keep on driving until the last few meters of road. Syaoron's green Civic slowly gained a few centimeters in every moment. Meilin kept her cool and concentrated on keeping her lead. Syaoron gained momentum and slowly crawled for the lead.

"I'll beat you!"

"I'll won't let you!"

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrggggh!"


End file.
